Space Florida still hopes to get NASA land near Volusia

Published: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 8:48 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 10:00 p.m.

State officials are so committed to trying to talk NASA into letting them have 150 acres near the Volusia/Brevard county line to build a commercial spaceport that NASA's rebuff of their initial advances earned barely a mention in the Space Florida board meeting Wednesday.

"We are engaged in a very cooperative, very supportive dialogue" with NASA, Space Florida President Frank DiBello told his board.

Buoyed by indications from NASA that it would continue to discuss how its lands could be available for a commercial launch complex "independent of the federal range," DiBello said Space Florida is "hopeful we can bring them around."

Space Florida, the state-run public economic development corporation, wants the land because it's trying to woo SpaceX, a private space transport company owned by Pay Pal founder Elon Musk, or another commercial space flight provider to build a vertical launch facility.

SpaceX is shopping for locations for such a facility and Florida is competing with Texas, Georgia, Puerto Rico and other locations for the company's business. DiBello said Thursday that Musk is among a new breed of commercial players that see the future in commercial space flight.

SpaceX, which maintains a launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, has a contract with NASA to develop a spacecraft that would allow the United States to return to launching astronauts from U.S. soil again. The company launched a rocket under contract with NASA last year to take cargo to the International Space Station.

Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, chairwoman of the Space Florida board, wrote federal officials last fall asking for 150 acres of "excess" land NASA owns north of Haulover Canal for the launch complex. In total, NASA owns 140,000 acres at Cape Canaveral, much of it managed as Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore.

The letter surprised and concerned longtime environmental advocates, who have successfully beaten back several earlier efforts to develop private launch facilities on refuge or seashore land.

In its response to Carroll's letter, NASA said its land isn't "excess" and may be needed as a potential site for future missions and as a buffer zone between Cape operations and the community.

Shiloh, the area at the Volusia/Brevard line where Space Florida hopes to build the launch facility, DiBello said, "is farther away from NASA operations than the city of Titusville."

Initially, state officials kept the letter from NASA quiet. Though the letter was stamped "received" on Dec. 12, it wasn't circulated until mid-January.

After newspaper stories on NASA's letter were published Jan. 22, state records show SpaceX contacted a consultant and a Space Florida official seeking a copy of the letter.

SpaceX officials said Wednesday the company is still in the "early stages" of choosing a site.

The company is grateful for its partnerships with the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center, company officials stated in an email.

"Regardless of where SpaceX's commercial site is located, we will continue to have a robust manifest of launches out of LC-40 (its space center launch pad)."

Space Florida spokeswoman Tina Lange said the corporation is "not giving up on this effort to develop new commercial launch properties in Florida, and we hope that NASA will realize the urgency of our request and of the market need."

"Space Florida will continue to move forward with optimism and confidence that we can arrive at a solution that assures commercial launch providers will have what they want in Florida," Lange said.

Meanwhile, Space Florida is receiving responses to its request for information from companies interested in using a commercial launch facility. Space Florida officials told board members they've received interest from "multiple customers."

Space Florida has dozens of projects in the works, officials said Wednesday, including working with NASA to get the former shuttle landing facility turned over for commercial horizontal space launches.

That facility, Lange said, "if re-purposed for commercial use – would absolutely put Florida in the lead nationally in developing a network of commercially-friendly spaceports to enable rapid launch capability."

Space Florida officials said Wednesday that NASA's decision on the landing facility could come within six to eight weeks. The Space Center's official schedule calls for handing off the facility to a partner by Oct. 1.

<p>State officials are so committed to trying to talk NASA into letting them have 150 acres near the Volusia/Brevard county line to build a commercial spaceport that NASA's rebuff of their initial advances earned barely a mention in the Space Florida board meeting Wednesday. </p><p>"We are engaged in a very cooperative, very supportive dialogue" with NASA, Space Florida President Frank DiBello told his board. </p><p>Buoyed by indications from NASA that it would continue to discuss how its lands could be available for a commercial launch complex "independent of the federal range," DiBello said Space Florida is "hopeful we can bring them around." </p><p>Space Florida, the state-run public economic development corporation, wants the land because it's trying to woo SpaceX, a private space transport company owned by Pay Pal founder Elon Musk, or another commercial space flight provider to build a vertical launch facility. </p><p>SpaceX is shopping for locations for such a facility and Florida is competing with Texas, Georgia, Puerto Rico and other locations for the company's business. DiBello said Thursday that Musk is among a new breed of commercial players that see the future in commercial space flight. </p><p>SpaceX, which maintains a launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, has a contract with NASA to develop a spacecraft that would allow the United States to return to launching astronauts from U.S. soil again. The company launched a rocket under contract with NASA last year to take cargo to the International Space Station. </p><p>Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, chairwoman of the Space Florida board, wrote federal officials last fall asking for 150 acres of "excess" land NASA owns north of Haulover Canal for the launch complex. In total, NASA owns 140,000 acres at Cape Canaveral, much of it managed as Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore. </p><p>The letter surprised and concerned longtime environmental advocates, who have successfully beaten back several earlier efforts to develop private launch facilities on refuge or seashore land. </p><p>In its response to Carroll's letter, NASA said its land isn't "excess" and may be needed as a potential site for future missions and as a buffer zone between Cape operations and the community. </p><p>DiBello told Space Florida's board Wednesday that NASA's argument "doesn't hold water." </p><p>Shiloh, the area at the Volusia/Brevard line where Space Florida hopes to build the launch facility, DiBello said, "is farther away from NASA operations than the city of Titusville." </p><p>Initially, state officials kept the letter from NASA quiet. Though the letter was stamped "received" on Dec. 12, it wasn't circulated until mid-January. </p><p>After newspaper stories on NASA's letter were published Jan. 22, state records show SpaceX contacted a consultant and a Space Florida official seeking a copy of the letter.</p><p>SpaceX officials said Wednesday the company is still in the "early stages" of choosing a site. </p><p>The company is grateful for its partnerships with the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center, company officials stated in an email. </p><p> "Regardless of where SpaceX's commercial site is located, we will continue to have a robust manifest of launches out of LC-40 (its space center launch pad)." </p><p>Space Florida spokeswoman Tina Lange said the corporation is "not giving up on this effort to develop new commercial launch properties in Florida, and we hope that NASA will realize the urgency of our request and of the market need." </p><p>"Space Florida will continue to move forward with optimism and confidence that we can arrive at a solution that assures commercial launch providers will have what they want in Florida," Lange said.</p><p>Meanwhile, Space Florida is receiving responses to its request for information from companies interested in using a commercial launch facility. Space Florida officials told board members they've received interest from "multiple customers." </p><p>Space Florida has dozens of projects in the works, officials said Wednesday, including working with NASA to get the former shuttle landing facility turned over for commercial horizontal space launches. </p><p>That facility, Lange said, "if re-purposed for commercial use – would absolutely put Florida in the lead nationally in developing a network of commercially-friendly spaceports to enable rapid launch capability." </p><p>Space Florida officials said Wednesday that NASA's decision on the landing facility could come within six to eight weeks. The Space Center's official schedule calls for handing off the facility to a partner by Oct. 1.</p>